Written in Red

He wanted to shed the human skin too. “We’ll wait until Sam is asleep.”

It didn’t take long. Tucked on the couch, wrapped in a blanket to protect that small, shivering body, Sam was asleep five minutes into the movie. Simon checked the doors, turned off lights, and made sure everything was secure. By the time he returned to the living room, Elliot had already shifted.

Leaving the movie on, Simon stripped off his clothes. Then he shifted and settled beside Elliot on the living room floor. If the floor wasn’t as warm or comfortable as the beds upstairs, the boy sleeping on the couch provided a different, and deeper, contentment.

CHAPTER 14

“But I wanna go with Meg!”

As he toweled himself dry, Simon gave his nephew a hard stare and had a totally inappropriate wish that for one more day, he could chuck the puppy in the cage instead of dealing with a wobbly boy who was more stranger than family and was acting annoyingly human.

“You can’t go with Meg today,” he said firmly. He felt like he’d been saying the same words from the moment Sam woke up. “You’re going to stay here with Elliot while I go to this meeting.”

“But who’s gonna be Meg’s adventure buddy if I’m not there?”

“Someone else will have to be her adventure buddy.” Preoccupied with the personal hygiene checklist he followed when he had to deal with humans, he didn’t realize how badly he’d erred until Sam gave him a tear-filled, horrified look.

“But I’m her adventure buddy. She said I was!” Sam wailed.

Before Simon could reach for the boy, Sam stepped back from the bathroom doorway and darted out of Simon’s bedroom.

Wobbly legs. Stairs.

Springing into the bedroom, Simon grabbed the jeans he’d laid out on the bed and ran into the hall. When he didn’t see Sam on the stairs, he pulled on the jeans, then tried to zip and button while he rushed after the boy, expecting to find Sam hiding in the living room or in the kitchen, whining at Elliot about not being allowed to go with Meg.

But when Simon got down the stairs, the front door was open, Sam’s clothes were strewn all over the floor, the damn leash was gone, and there was evidence in the foot-deep fresh snow of a bounding puppy making his escape.

Simon leaped out the door and snarled when his bare feet sank into snow. A few steps gave him a clear view of Meg’s porch—and Sam standing on his hind legs, his forelegs shifted into furry arms that could reach the doorbell, and his front paws changed just enough to have fingers that could press the doorbell And press it and press it.

“Shit. Fuck. Damn damn damn.” Swearwords were one of the best things humans had invented, Simon thought as he took the stairs in leaps. He was almost within reach when the door opened and Sam bolted inside, the red leash trailing after him.

Meg stood in the doorway, trying to scrunch herself into the bathrobe that didn’t cover her lower legs. At another time, he would have given those legs a better look—just to check the visible skin for scars. Now, with Sam all furry and talking back at him and Meg looking like a bunny who had been dodging a Hawk, only to run smack into a Wolf, he did what he figured was the polite human thing to do and kept his eyes on her face.

Didn’t stop him from grabbing her hand before she regained enough of her wits to shut the door in his face.

“Meg.”

“Mr. Wolfgard, what . . . ?”

“Can you watch Sam for a while? I have a meeting this morning. I’ll pick him up at lunchtime. But this morning, you can be adventure buddies.”

“But . . . I was getting in the shower,” Meg protested weakly. She shivered. “I have to go to work.”

“Then the two of you can be adventure buddies at the office. Just don’t get buried in the snow.” A weak effort at humor, since that was a possibility.

<That’s why we have the safety line!>

He was so startled to have Sam communicate with him in the terra indigene way after so long a silence, he squeezed Meg’s hand hard enough to make her yip.

“Mr. Wolfgard,” Meg said, pulling her hand out of his. “You’re not dressed.”

And neither was she. “Please, Meg. Just for the morning.” He put some bite in the last words and looked past her to Sam.

Sam wagged his tail, not the least bit sorry—or worried—about how he got what he wanted.

When Meg didn’t say anything, Simon nudged her back a couple of steps. “Get in the shower. It will warm you up.”

Closing her door, he hurried down the stairs and back to his apartment. Elliot stood in the entryway, staring at the clothes on the floor and the open door.

“Blessed Thaisia, what is going on?”

Damn, his feet were cold, and the jeans were wet. “Meg’s taking Sam with her for the morning. Put his clothes in a carry sack. I’ll leave them with Meg when I go back out for the meeting. And call Nathan. See if the streets around the office and our stores have been plowed. There’s no point having Meg try to get to work if there aren’t going to be deliveries.”

He headed upstairs, intending to take another hot shower and get fully dressed before he ventured outside.

“Simon?” Elliot called, stopping him at the top of the stairs. “Since I won’t be watching Sam, I’d like to attend that meeting. If that’s acceptable to you.”

While there were specific individuals he wanted at this meeting, any leader of a gard or other group of terra indigene was allowed to sit in on the Business Association meetings. Today there were things to discuss about the past week in the Courtyard. There were also things they needed to consider about what happened in Jerzy, and Elliot should hear what was said about that.

And maybe Elliot should be told some things about Meg.

“All right. Check with Nathan first, then call Blair and tell him we’ll be meeting in the Green social room.”

He didn’t wait for Elliot’s reply. He went into his bathroom, stripped off the wet jeans, and stood in the shower long enough to warm up. While he got dressed, he considered the new challenge of weaning Sam away from his adventure buddy.

But first he would have to figure out a good reason why he would want to.

It didn’t look like they were going anywhere.

Meg stared at the snowdrifts beyond the archway that led to the parking area and garages for the Green Complex. Paths had been cleared around the interior of the complex so that the residents could reach the laundry room, mail room, social room, and the apartments, but there was no way she was going to get her BOW out of the garage, let alone reach the road.

“Come on, Sam. We’ll take a quick walk and go back inside.” She shifted her grip on the carry sack that contained a complete set of boy’s clothing and turned back toward her apartment, pondering how she would get to work. Businesses did open after snowstorms. Deliveries would be made. The mailman would bring the mail sack and pick up the mail deposited in the blue post box that was tucked against the wall of the consulate. People went about their business in the winter, even if it took them a little longer than usual.

As she and Sam walked toward the other end of the complex, she heard bells.

Sam lifted his muzzle and howled.

“Come on,” Meg said, walking as quickly as she could.

They reached the road in time to see the sleigh pulled by two brown horses. One horse had a black mane and